


First Love (Second Chance)

by shipatfirstsight



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I'm Bad At Summaries, background romance- Han and Leia, background romance- Maz and Chewie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 09:12:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6073575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipatfirstsight/pseuds/shipatfirstsight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo's back in Rey's life after breaking her heart and that would be fine if he just stopped trying to apologize with flowers. </p><p>Or: Reylo Flower Shop AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Love (Second Chance)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kinda_shipping](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinda_shipping/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I know nothing about running a flower shop. Also MMA is briefly mentioned, about which I also know nothing; it's basically just used for plot purposes. For my sister <3 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

The man who always stood at the counter never looked like he belonged. The flower shop was a riot of colors, and there he was sticking out like a sore thumb, dressed all in black. Which might not have looked so out of place if he didn’t also look completely and totally miserable, glaring at patrons and flowers alike.

But Rey didn’t care how miserable ‘Kylo’ was. She was there to do her job dammit, and that was exactly what she planned on doing. Even if it meant being superficially nice, or at least relatively civil, to the man who’d broken her heart.

She’d just turned nineteen—she’d known him then as Ben, son of her heroes. A part of her still hadn’t been able to believe back then that she actually _knew_ the famed Solo-Organa-Skywalker family, let alone that she was friends with their son. Anyway, she’d had this big plan to confess to Ben that she’d always had a crush on him. She’d gone to the place he worked then, some sleazy bar called The Finalizer, before opening so she’d hopefully catch him alone. He’d been sitting at the counter, talking with his redheaded friend. It wasn’t that Rey disliked Hux, necessarily, she just wasn’t sure she liked him, or any of Ben’s new friends. But she’d deal with him for five minutes if she could be alone with Ben. And then she’d heard it, loud and clear.

“Why should I care if some teenager has a crush on me? My parents want me to be _nice_ to her, to go out of my way to spend time with her, when she’s just an annoying little girl,” the words had been haughty, proud, each word cutting through her and she realized how utterly _ridiculous_ she’d been, how _obvious_.

A sob caught in her throat, making both men turn around. Hux looked at her with his normal mix of amusement and disdain. It was Ben’s expression she couldn’t place, and she didn’t care to stay long enough to figure it out. She fled—it seemed like the best idea at the time. She made excuses for weeks, both to her foster parents and to his parents, about why she suddenly no longer wanted to go to Han and Leia’s for dinner. Or why she no longer wanted to spend lazy afternoons with Poe, Finn, and _Ben_ at the movie theater. She wouldn’t have minded so much if it had just been Poe and Finn, but she had no intention of getting anywhere near Ben. She had to make constant excuses to both their parent’s about why she wouldn’t answer his calls, why she refused to see him when he came over, and she hated it.

Anyway, it didn’t matter. He left home with his new friends, and she didn’t particularly care what he was doing. Okay, she did, but she pretended that she didn’t care. Apparently, Hux and Phasma had talked him into joining a MMA league called The First Order (which was just the most ridiculous name in the world) and he’d changed his name to Kylo Ren or something equally horrible. Rey definitely did not care, though, at all. And she definitely did not watch his matches late at night. Nope. Not at all.

There was a huge scandal eventually—the leader of the league, Snoke, was caught fixing the matches. All of the people who signed with him were brought under review, and, since they were found to have known about what Snoke was doing, all of them were prohibited from participating in any professional matches ever again. Ben came home, and she knew it was in large part because his parents were making him, but he insisted on still being called Kylo.

Her mother, Maz,—now that the adoption papers had gone through—had just opened a flower shop, which she called Rey’s of Sunshine (to Rey’s eternal embarrassment), suggested that as part of his deal with his parents he could work at the shop. Maz had suggested it with a twinkle in her, a raised brow in Rey’s direction. Rey had never quite gotten around to telling either of her adopted parents what had happened between her and Ben, but she almost opened her mouth to tell them then. She stopped herself, though. It was too late to tell them now. Besides, she’d grown up a lot. She was definitely _not_ still hung up on her childhood crush.

So she was forced to see him day in and day out since she was working at the shop to help with college even though both Maz and Chewie told her it was fine, that they’d pay for it. She wanted to help, though, and _she_ didn’t mind working at the flower shop, unfortunate name and all. The first day he’d been there, he’d started when he saw her, his whole body going tense. Rey did _not_ notice how his shirt clung to his newfound muscles, or the way his hair still looked amusingly fluffy, and she definitely did _not_ still want to run her fingers through that stupid, stupid hair. It was easier to ignore her feelings, flashing him a smile. She couldn’t quite bring herself to actually, you know, _talk_ to him though. And he never talked to her either.

At least she didn’t have to work all day in the store with him, she figured. She was the delivery person, after all, so she got to go back and forth between customers and the store. She didn’t have to deal with him nearly as much as Maz did—who stayed in the back room all day. Kylo didn’t want to be there, not the flower shop and not home, and it was clear to everyone.

So when she walked in that morning, a full year after he’d come home, it was no surprise that he looked utterly miserable, as always. She’d joked to Chewie that Kylo only had two expressions now, miserable and _really_ miserable.

What was a surprise was that he opened his mouth and said, “You never talk to me anymore.” His voice sounded like it always had when he talked to her, that weird mix of teasing and self-consciousness that was so _Ben_ and it makes her so _mad_ that he seems to have forgotten what happened that night.

“I didn’t think you’d want to talk to an _annoying little girl_ ,” she spits out, enjoying vindictively the look of horror and realization that flashes over his face. She hurries to grab her deliveries, rushing out before he can say anything else. Her anger fades away when she gets into the delivery van, though, hot tears in her eyes. She blinks them away; she’s not about to give him the satisfaction.

When she comes back, she rushes to get the next delivery orders, not even stopping to talk to Maz. When she comes back to help close up for the night, she ignores him when he calls her name repeatedly, pleading with her to just talk to him _please_. At least no one else is in the shop, except for Maz who comes out to look between the two of them, concern knotting her brow. And still, Rey won’t talk to him. She won’t even look at him

“Rey,” Maz says, soft and firm and comforting all at once when they’re home that night. “What’s going on with you and Ben?”

“Nothing, mom. I just don’t want to talk to him,” she knows she sounds defensive as she says it, but she can’t bring herself to relive the embarrassment of that night in the bar. She’s never told anyone about it, not Maz, not Chewie, not Finn or Poe, not Han or Leia. It’s not about _him_ , it’s about her own shame that she could have ever thought he would ever feel anything for her.

“You used to be best friends,” Chewie cuts in, his voice gruff and low.

“Things change, dad. Ben certainly did.”

The next day, she can’t help her eyes from cutting over to him as soon as she walks through the door. He looks like he didn’t get a bit of sleep; she drags her gaze away from him.

“Rey,” he calls out, and he sounds completely desperate, “Would you just—“

“No. Whatever it is you have to say _Kylo_ , I don’t want hear it,” and with that, she leaves. That’s how they spend the whole week, Rey coming in, Kylo trying to talk to her, and her firmly not letting him.

Maz and Chewie leave on some cruise with Han and Leia that Rey swore she really didn’t want to go on, but now she wishes she had. She’s stuck in the backroom all day—Maz arranging with her customers for there to be no deliveries that week and instead have them come pick up the orders when they’re ready. Kylo keeps coming in and staring at her, opening his mouth to talk while she shakes her head no at him. He keeps bringing the order papers to her, instead of waiting for her to come out and get them, and then he stands and waits, like he expects _her_ to say something to _him_. Yeah, like _that’s_ going to happen.

There’s an order for a bouquet of daisies on top—her favorite flower—and she ignores him, getting the flowers ready. Only when she’s done does she see the name at the bottom of the order, _Kylo_ , written in his clear handwriting. She fights a horrible flash of jealousy, because he doesn’t mean _anything_ to her anymore. Rey can’t believe he would make her put together a bunch of flowers—her favorite flowers, which he knew very well—for some other woman. She grits her teeth, looking at what’s supposed to go on the card attached to the flowers.

 _I’m really sorry, Rey_ , he’s written. Well, it was about four years too late for an apology. He’s still standing there, staring at her expectantly like he expects _this_ to make everything right, and she looks him dead in the eye as she very calmly dumps the whole bouquet right into the trash can besides her, giving him an angry little smile. He doesn’t try to talk to her for the rest of the day, and she does _not_ miss him trying.

The next day, another order from him makes its way to her. She’s methodically checked all the customer names before starting the orders, and when she sees his name, she doesn’t even bother to read the rest of it. Rey ‘s noticed him peeking into the back room all day, and she waits for him to look again before balling his order up and tossing it into the trash.

He keeps doing it, because he never freaking learns, for days, sometimes putting in multiple orders a day. Apparently, he’s a glutton for punishment. She starts to almost look forward to his orders, just so she can have the vindictive pleasure of throwing them away.

On the sixth day, she gets no new orders from him. She waits for it all day, looking at him expectantly every time he brings her the new orders, and still, nothing from him. Maybe he’s finally given up, she hopes, ignoring that she feels a little crushed. When she goes out to lock up for the night and send him on his way, Kylo’s nowhere to be found. She tries to not make it obvious that she’s looking for him, but she is; it’s _not_ that she’s concerned about him, she reasons, she’s angry at him for leaving the shop unsupervised.

A throat clears behind her. She whirls, finding Kylo there behind her, looking awkward in what she is almost positive is his father’s suit, which is about two sizes too small for him, his wrists and ankles exposed, the jacket hardly buttoning across his chest. He’s holding the messiest bouquet of flowers she’s ever seen in her life. He’s put three flowers together—gloxinias, jonquils, and daisies—and most of the flowers are falling apart, but he still holds it out for her.

He clears his throat awkwardly again when she makes no move to take the flowers from him, too in shock to move. “I, um—“ he stops, clearing his throat again, pulling at the tie around his neck. “I stayed up all night looking up flower meanings. I thought you might—“ he stops, looking down in utter embarrassment. Rey still can’t bring herself to move. She feels frozen in place watching him. “I’m really sorry, Rey. You weren’t supposed to hear what I said to Hux. I just didn’t want to tell him that I didn’t mind that you had a crush on me. That I’d started to like you too. And then you wouldn’t talk to me so I could tell you I was sorry.”

She can’t believe it, still can’t move. He waits, looking at her with sorrow clear in his gaze.

“This was stupid,” he finally mutters, angrily. “I know you can’t forgive me, but I wanted you to know that I’m sorry and I’ll leave _mmph—_ “ he hadn’t been paying attention to her as he spoke, so he missed her striding across the room to him quickly, pulling him down by his tie so she could crash her lips against his. She has the immense satisfaction of his shock; he doesn’t respond to the kiss at first, doesn’t respond at all until she breaks her lips from his. Then he reaches his free hand behind her head, pulling her back to him so he can finally kiss her too.

Despite his protests, she saves his bouquet—which is truly _horrible_ , she takes great pleasure in telling him—determining to dry it out so she can keep it forever.

“It’s too special to get rid of,” she argues, and then, “I love it because it’s from you.”

Kylo doesn’t protest her keeping it after that, just smiles at her affectionately, with a little bit of awe thrown in, even if he does still glare at his handiwork.

When Maz, Chewie, Han, and Leia come home four weeks later, Kylo’s parents stopping at her’s, they don’t look the least bit surprised to find Rey and Kylo wrapped up in each other’s arms, lips pressed against each other’s, on the couch. Rey, for her part, jumps out of his lap in embarrassment, even while Han gives his son a high five and the rest of the adults just smile back and forth between themselves.

“Was wondering how long that would take,” Han mutters under his breath to his wife.

“It was only a matter of time,” Maz says, smiling at Rey as her cheeks get redder and redder.

“Take care of my daughter, Benjamin,” Chewie warns, with a pointed look at Kylo that dissolves into a fit of laughter, shared between all the parents. Rey is positively _mortified_ , and she just wants it to stop. Kylo looks equally as embarrassed, his cheeks and the tips of his ears turning the same shade of red.

“Aw, let’s leave the lovebirds alone,” Leia breaks in finally, trying to stop her laughter.

Their parents file out, smirking knowingly at the new couple who were trying very hard _not_ to look at each other.

“I’ve never been more embarrassed in my entire _life_ ,” she groans, sinking back onto the sofa—next to him, instead of on his lap—letting her head fall to his shoulder. He rests his head on top of hers. Rey feels him place a small kiss on her head, and she snuggles up next to him.

“It could have been worse,” he whispers, arms wrapping around her. “They could have caught us in your room this morning. Or last night. Or the night before that.”

Rey pulls back from him, fixing him with an angry look, eyes darting to the dining room where she can hear their parents talking. But his hand tangles into her hair, and he pulls her into a long, slow kiss, the kind that made her toes curl in anticipation, so she nearly forget that they weren’t alone.

Until Han’s voice breaks through, saying, “They’re at it again!” like he’s ready to announce it to the whole damn world.

Rey drags Kylo back to the flower shop after that, ostensibly because it’s almost time to open, but really, she just wants to be alone with him. If they  _forget_ to turn over the sign from 'closed' to 'open' for the whole day it's  _not_ because they were too busy kissing in the back room. Nope, it couldn't have been that at all.

**Author's Note:**

> I never know when to end things (my sister was no help, she told me to continue this forever). Anyway, if you're interested, the flowers Kylo gives her mean love at first sight (gloxinia) and desire for affection returned (jonquil); it just happens to be a nice touch that daisies mean loyal love. All information on flower meaning taken from [Here](http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/flowers/flowers.html)
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://shipatfirstsight.tumblr.com)
> 
> If you're reading my other stuff, updates are coming soon, I just had the idea for this one and wanted to get it down before I forgot!


End file.
